Albatross
by LullabyofLies
Summary: "It's kinda funny," he turned to her with jaded blue eyes and a sad smirk, " It doesn't really matter how much you manage to pay off. They still own you either way. All you can do is carry that cross and keep your head down low."
1. Albatross

_How is it that no matter how much time passes, I always come back to Shugo Chara fanfiction? It's so strange. I guess it's because Shugo Chara was my first experience with fanfiction, my first attempt at writing a fanfiction, and most of all, had the warmest response from readers. I just scanned through the monstrosity that was my first story, Midnight Romance. But no matter how bad it was in my eyes, the reviews were always loving and supportive. _

_So I'm back again to give this another go. Please enjoy!_

_Albatross_

She awoke, her thin, naked body floating in a pool of green-tinged water that held a distinct medical smell. Bright industrial lights attacked her poorly sensitive eyes and she winced in defense, her arm came over her head to protect her eyes with forgiving shade and she racked her brain for any clues as to why she was naked, in a pool, alone.

Through her muddled thoughts she found that she couldn't recall where she was the last time she was awake. As she thought more about this, she caught sight of a hospital bracelet that dangled from her wrist;

_P A T I E N T 3 1 2 1 7_

_Hinamori, Amu _

The name rang familiarly in her mind; but at the same time, it possessed a slightly bizarre, almost foreign, tone. It took her a full minute of rapid blinking to process that the name engraved upon the silver bracelet was indeed her own.

_'Well, it's not much, but it's a start.' _Amu thought to herself.

"You're awake."

She jolted at the sudden, new sound of a human voice. Sitting up, she was surprised at how shallow the pool of water was. If she stood up it only came to her pelvis region , _'Well duh, I would've drowned if it was any deeper.'_ Remembering the voice, Amu looked up. A woman with curly hair and glasses stood at the edge of the pool. Her black suit contrasted greatly with the white-stucco theme the room seemed to have. Amu was struck with a delay realization, that she was still very naked. She flushed and folded herself over her knees, trying to hide herself in the rippling water.

The woman cleared her throat, "This is good, they weren't sure you'd ever wake up." Her hand slid into the pocket of her suit jacket and extracted thin Blackberry. Her fingers flew over the keypad and she held it up to her ear, "She's awake."

She nodded her head as the person on the other line spoke, and then hung up and tucked the phone away into its spot in her pocket. Amu, who waited patiently for the entire durations of the call, began to assault her with the questions that had been rolling around her mind since she opened her eyes, "Where am I? Who are you? Why am I in this pool? Why am I naked? What is this place? Why in God's name am I _naked_?"

The woman doesn't look surprised by the torrent of questions being thrown her way, she simply shifts her wait on her heels and adjusts her thin silver frames, she said, "You are in a medical hospital owned by Easter. What you are in is called an Anesthetic Capsule, the antibiotics contained in the water are designed to soothe and repair damaged skin cells as well as strengthened loss muscle mass caused by lack of activity over long periods of time, such is why you are naked to get the full affect during these sessions." The woman paused, " As for who I am, you can call me Sanjou."

Amu's mind reeled at the onslaught of information and Sanjou adjusted her glasses again, "Now, if you'll come with me. We have a lot to discuss."

_'Obviously.' _Amu thought as she waded out of the pool. Gravity decided then to remind her who was boss in the universe and her legs buckled, and she stumbled out of the pool. Fortunately, she caught herself before tumbling to the ground. She rubbed her hand across her thigh, feeling the small layer of muscle under her skin. After a minute of goaded her legs to cooperate, she finally stood straight.

The cold air that one usually associated with the hospital attacked her skin, causing goosebumps to rise on top of her wet body. She shivered and graciously accepted the pink towel Sanjou held out to her. After she dried herself off as best as she could, Sanjou handed her a pink hospital gown that didn't quite close all the way in the back. Amu raised her eyebrow at yet another reminder that something must have happened to her to land her in such a place. Sanjou led her out of the room into a hallway with white tiles, white walls and white fluorescent lights. Every so number of feet, a large, metal door sat, flanking both sides of the white pathway. Sanjou strutted with confidence and grace, her stride so great that Amu had to double the amount of steps she took to keep up.

They traveled for a while, the hallway longer that it originally seemed, before they came up to a door with a high-tech keypad built into the wall beside it. Sanjou inputed a series of numbers and stared into a little lens that shot a beam of red into her pupil. The door, upon recognition, beeped and flew open with a _woosh._

The room they entered was simple, but still very white. Amu made a comment on this as Sanjou sat them down at the table situated in the middle. "Silly girl, the walls are Ivory, not white." Sanjou explained as she pulled out clipboard from _somewhere_ on her person and clicked her ball-point pen a few times, "So how are you feeling Amu?" She asked, her pen poised at the first line of what looked like a medical file.

"Alright," Amu said quietly, "...a little weak. But alright."

"It's to be expected, you've been asleep for a very long time." Sanjou wrote something before setting the pen down parallel from the clipboard and clasped her manicured fingers together, "I'm going to ask you a series of questions to evaluate your psych and mental status. Alright?"

"Ok."

"When is your birthday?"

"September 24th"

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen?"

"Capital of Japan?"

"Tokyo."

"Home address?"

Amu's eyebrows pulled together in confusion, she recalls her home. A small two-story home in a sleepy little town. But she couldn't remember her address, or what the name of the town was, "I... I don't know."

Scribble. Scribble. "Parents names?"

Again, " I don't know."

"Siblings?"

A flash of a smiling, chubby-cheeked face, "Yes, a little sister."

"Her name?"

"..."

The questions continued, and with them the desperation in her grew. For some reason, she couldn't recall anything about the family she knew for certain she had. It was very off-putting.

"Hmm," Sanjou hummed, "Strange, other than the obvious case of mild amnesia. You seem fine, which when considering the amount of brain trauma you received, it's astounding you have no other symptoms."

Amu, who was just about fed up with being in the dark, huffed in annoyance. "Look, I don't mean to be rude, but can you please tell me what happened?"

Sanjou clicked her pen, "You had an accident." she said, "I won't go into the details because they were rather gruesome. Due to the severity of the accident, your chances of surviving were slim."

"But..." Amu inquired.

"When we got word of your accident, the CEO of Easter sent out the best team of surgeons who slaved for seven straight hours to save you, and they were successful."

"But why?"

Sanjou smiled, "You've been on our recruitment list for years now. Smart, creative, athletic, and talented. You had all the credentials, if not more. However your attitude is a bit roguish. But nothing that can't be changed with practice. We were originally going to wait for you to turn eighteen before reaching out to you, but with recent circumstances. We had to interfere a little earlier than scheduled."

"So basically, I've been watched by this stalker company for years and when I had this accident, they decided to step in and play the hand of God?"

"Exactly."

Amu leaned against the back of the chair and crossed her arms. "There has to be a catch."

"Smart. Just like your file said. Fine." She un-clipped a packet of paper from the clipboard and fliped it towards Amu. Picking it up, she scanned through it quickly, words such as 'Debt', 'Payment, 'Hours', 'Medicine', 'Contract', and 'Binding' leap off the page, attacking her as she read. Amu felt her mouth go dry.

"Do to the amount of material and money it took to repair you, your body is officially the property of Easter Corporation."

"How much?" Amu murmurs, more to herself than her companion. Sanjou twirls clipboard around and pointed to a highlighted amount at the top. Amu stared at the long line of zeros like it was a train passing her by. She dropped her head into her hands, a feeling of dread falling over her.

"Miss. Hinamori." Amu lifted her head, her hands covering her trembling lip. Sanjou was pushing yet another packet of paper, "All is not lost. There is a way to pay for your debt."

"How?"

"Easter is a very large business. It has footholds in just about every category. However it's known mostly for its entertainment industry. Music, TV, Movies, and Fashion, we do it all. If you agree to work for us, half of your income will be used to pay off your debt, while the other half will be given to you to spend at your leisure."

"You're offering me a job?"

"Basically."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then you will have to pay the entire amount upon your release from this institution."

Amu let out a little gasp. She had never even seen that much money in her life, the thought of having to pay it back made her want to curl into a ball and cry.

"What about my family?"

"Your family will be held responsible for this if you refuse to do either." Sanjou slides a photo out from under the contract and angles it towards Amu. She recognized herself standing off to the side, pink haired and clearly looking bored, but smiling slightly into the camera, a little girl hugging her leg and sucking her thumb. Her parents were next to her, grinning warmly at each other. Even though her brain didn't recall anything about who they were or what they were to her, Amu's heart clenched at the thought of them having to pay off her debt with money they clearly didn't have.

Sanjou sat the pen down upon the contract, "So what will it be Miss. Hinamori?"

_'I have no choice.'_

Slowly, she grasped the pen and signed her name on the dotted black line.

_Chapter 1 End_


	2. Frondescence

_She loved turtles. _

_Amu was a shy little girl even at the age of two. She never cried, or complained, or threw a tantrum because that would draw attention, and no amount of skinned knees or broken toys was worth the agony of having all eyes on you. So she would keep her mouth shut, bite her lip and rock away her pain in secrecy. "How precious!" She remembered her teacher saying, "So quiet and polite! You're such a little lady!" _

_Amu was the farthest thing from a lady, she liked to get dirty, said brass things, and slouched. She was just really shy. _

_Which is why, to her, turtles are awesome. Because when turtles feel threatened by outside forces, they can retreat back into their shells and hide, protected, until the threat is gone, and for a shy girl who was clumsy and had a penchant for humiliation. The idea of a personal sanctuary on her back looked pretty appealing. _

_So she created her own turtle shell in her mind. When ever she felt the telltale signs of embarrassment; the heat under her skin, the clammy hands, the sudden urge to throw up and dig your self a hole to die in. She would mentally pull out her turtle shell and climb into it. Wishing the world would leave her alone._

* * *

><p>They had left the hospital at an ungodly hour in the morning, when the sun was nothing more than a sliver of orange on the horizon. Sanjou had herded a dazed, if not reluctant Amu, into the passenger side of an shiny-new foreign car that only seated two people and maybe a dog.<p>

A really small dog.

After watching the same frondescent scene roll by her window for thirty straight minutes, Amu fell asleep with her cheek pressed against the cool, tinted glass. It was one of those kinda-almost-naps, the kind you can only get in special cases of extreme boredom where you can feel the tires as they rolled against the pavement, or the humming sound of the air conditioner, but you loose all sense of time.

She slept for a minute and woke up several hours later with the sun sinking low in the sky.

The skin of her cheek stuck to the window, and it stung when she peeled away from the glass. Rubbing her eyes, she noticed that the long stretch of highway had been replaced with street signs and late afternoon pedestrians.

"Welcome to the big city." Sanjou muttered, sipping from her mug. Amu rolled her head with her fingers kneading the small, painful knot at the back of her neck. "Where are we?" She asked, because the city looked like every other city in the world. Obnoxiously bright, loud, and alive.

"Seiyo. Don't be fooled by the lights and pretty skyscrapers. This city is rotten to the very core."

Amu nodded towards nothing in particular as the car fell back into idle silence. As Sanjou drove towards the inner part of the city, buildings got taller, crowds got thick and traffic became hell.

Sanjou cursed as the guy in front of them in a beat up Toyota slammed on his breaks, a chorus of honks and angry beeps rising through air. Amu, although looked nonchalant on the outside, was clutching her poor turtle shell for dear life and praying to every God, Deity, Priest, Monk, thing that she would soon touch solid ground.

Sanjou tapped the top of her steering wheel anxiously before falling against her seat and rubbing her forehead, "Dammit."

"Something wrong?" Amu asked because it seemed like the right thing to do.

The older woman pressed lightly on the gas, inching the car before stopping again and answering, "We were originally supposed to stop by Headquarters to pick up the necessary paperwork and workout payment and debut details, but since we got here after five,we got stuck in traffic. Which means we'll have to head over in the morning." She huffed in annoyance, "Not something I like to do on my Sunday mornings."

"Oh." Amu responded, settling into her seat. Sanjou's words replayed through her mind before she snapped her head left and her eyes grew wide, "Wait, did you just say debut?"

Sanjou actually laughed at the worried face her new client had given her. "You didn't honestly think we spent all that money fixing you up so you could staple papers together?"

Amu didn't say anything, but felt her face burn. She hadn't thought that, but she also didn't think that they would be putting her in the public eye so soon.

"Ah, here we are." The car shifted as Sanjou took a hard right and pulled into a parking garage. The officer in the security stand stopped her and she flashed him her ID. "Oh!" He said, "Miss. Sanjou, I didn't recognize you. Is this a new car?" He eyed the vehicle hungrily and Sanjou gave him an exasperated look. "Yes, the other one lost the new car smell."

_'So you bought a new one?' _Amu thought, and judging upon the stricken expression on the security officer, he shared her sentiments. "Ahem, of course. One second, I'll raised the bar for you." Sanjou adjusted her frames and pressed down on the gas before the bar was all the way up.

With maneuvering that would make a race-car driver proud, Sanjou peeled into the nearest available spot, which was a very tight space between a Lotus and the newest Mercedes Benz. Amu released her breathe when Sanjou's car amazingly graze against anything.

Slowly, Amu opened the door, being very careful not to add a new paint job to her growing list of things to pay for, she wormed her way out and shimmied towards the trunk of the car where she weaseled out of the inch worth of space between the bumpers and tumbled to the ground with a heaving sigh of relief.

Sanjou stared down at Amu with a strange expression, "What are you doing?"

Amu didn't even attempt to explain.

Sanjou shook her head and popped the trunk. Grabbing the small bag that contained the generic clothes that she had bought for Amu during her last few days in the hospital (Amu had been grateful to have something to wear besides than that stupid hospital gown) She heaved the girl from the ground and headed towards the other side of the parking garage to where the elevator was.

The elevator ride was quiet, both parties rather letting the smooth sounds of a saxophone to fill the empty space. Amu watched the dial at the top of the elevator door ding at each new floor.

25...26...27...

"You have arrived." A robotic voice informed them over the speakers, interrupting piano solo that Amu had been tapping her foot to. Amu waited for Sanjou to get off first before she followed, as she took her first step out of the elevator, she bumped her shoulder with a pretty blond girl who had been waiting to get on. "Oh, sorry." Amu said, but the girl was gone.

"Strange." Amu thought as she watched the lights in the screen above the elevator ding at each new floor.

"Amu! Hurry up!" Sanjou called from twenty feet ahead. Amu jumped at her voice and half-jogged over to her, quickly forgetting the rude girl in the elevator.

Sanjou reached into her purse that was hung from her shoulder and pulled out a key card that one would see in a fancy hotel. She pushed it into the slot above the door handle and pushed the wooden door open.

The lights automatically flickered on as they entered the room, the door swinging closed behind them.

The room was the epitome of interior design; the entryway opened up into a large modular living room. The walls were a pretty shade of lavender with darker violet stripes streaking down. Abstract black and white splattered canvases took up the space on north wall while the east wall was huge window with shear silver drapes which were pulled back to show the city below. A black loveseat and two comfy looking chairs were surrounding a clear glass coffee table, all this sat on a perfectly white carpet. Purple and silver orbs dangled from the ceiling giving off a steady stream of light. On the south wall were two black doors with silver handles .

"Since you are still a rookie in the business, it isn't as nice as the others." Sanjou explained, running the pad of her finger against the surface of a glass top table set next the door. She viewed the nonexistent dust before glancing at Amu, whose jaw still hadn't gotten up from its spot on the floor.

"Your roommate must be working late, I'm sure you'll meet her tomorrow morning. You each have your own room, but have to share a bathroom. You're free to decorate the room in any style you wish, just ask the Housemother to take you shopping on your day off. Don't worry about the expenses, it'll just be taken out of your first paycheck." Sanjou glanced at the clock which listed the time at somewhere around seven pm. "The cafeteria is on the second floor. Breakfast is at seven, lunch at twelve, and dinner at eight. Snacks can be made at anyti-" Sanjou yawned mid-sentence, and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "I think that's everything. I'll be here at nine to pick you up for tomorrows meeting."

Amu nodded slowly, still processing the room and Sanjou's words.

"I'll leave your card key on the table. Do not lose it." Sanjou slipped the card on top of the table by the door and left the room, murmuring,"Ciao." over her shoulder.

Amu collapsed to the ground as soon as she heard the door click. All the energy she had throughout the day had been zapped from her in a matter of seconds and she simply sat their with her brain zapped.

After a while, she picked herself off the ground and shuffled across the living room. Finding that the door closest to the window was covered decked from ceiling to floor in red polka dots, Amu safely assumed that it was her roommates room. She closed the door shut and opened the other one. The room was barren and -surprise, surprise- white. A bed with a white sheets and white pillow cases, white walls and white furniture. The only thing that wasn't white was the steel gray carpet. She turned on the light and dropped her bag on the mattress. The dresser was situated between two doors; one was a medium sized closet, while the other led to the bathroom. Amu curiously viewed the different brightly colored bottles of perfume and toiletries scattered across the gray marble counter and decided that a shower was in order.

She returned to her bag and tugged out a nightgown and a bag of toiletries, mentally noting to do some clothing shopping sometime soon. She stripped and stepped under the shower nozzle and blasted the water as high and hot as possible.

She didn't stay in the shower long, considering she was tired and only wanted to wash away the gas exhaust smell from her skin. After the water went from boiling to hot she turned off the water and wrapped a towel around her figure as she stepped out. She finished the rest of her nightly chores, trying to avoid looking in the mirror as much as possible. It was weird glancing into your reflection and not recognizing who was staring back at you.

She was pretty, she supposed whenever she did happened to find herself searching the mirror world for some answers. She had medium-length pink hair that hit just above her shoulders in the front and the bottom of her shoulder blades in the back, and her eyes were round and child-like, making her appear younger than she felt. Her entire face held the childish theme is seemed, round cheeks, small ears and a button nose. She slid her hand under her bangs and pushed them back, reveling a faint, white scar that spanned from one side of her forehead to the other. It was the only evidence she had that she was in fact in some tragic accident. She removed her hand and let her hair drop back into place.

She slipped the nightgown over her head when she finished blow-drying her hair. It was too short to be considered a gown, actually, it was more of a nightshirt. She made a note to get some more appropriate sleepwear also.

Amu cleaned up and placed her things inside the empty sink drawer, turning off the lights as she left the bathroom. Her room was darker than it was before she took her shower, and the alarm clock on her nightstand blinked at her; 8:30.

She collapsed on her bed, her eyes scanning the white expanse of her ceiling. She dropped her arm over her eyes and sighed.

She really _hated_ white.

* * *

><p><em>'Found him.'<em> He was always so predictable.

Her shadow was long across the rooftop as she stood in the threshold of the entryway. The light bulb flickered above her making the shadow jolt slightly. She stepped out, her hand catching the door before it slammed shut behind her. She then let is slide shut with a quiet 'thump' and proceeded forward with light, hesitant steps, almost as if she was afraid that he would disappear with anything heavier than the clack of her heels.

Reaching the edge of the rooftop that looked over the street below, she ditched her shoes and sat down swung her legs over the side and let them dangle. For a split second-not even enough time to blink- she wondered what would happen if she just leaned forward and _let go. _But the thought was gone in an instant as fear and logic took her back to sitting as far away from the edge as possible.

He was more daring than she. He stood on the edge, balancing on crossed ankles and his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Everything about his posture screamed dangerous, from the way he swayed in the wind to the way he shifted his weight from one hip to another.

"You're going to fall one of these days." She commented,staring over the side at the cars and the dots of black and yellow that were actually people but from this height, they could easily be called ants.

"Maybe." He drawled, "Possibly."

She didn't say anything more, but sat for a little longer, wriggling her toes in the wind, pretending she was walking on top of the cars and the ant-people. Then when she had gotten too cold, she flipped around and set herself firmly on the ground. She grabbed her shoes by the lacy straps and tip-toed back to the stairway that led back into the safe, brightly lit building.

She vaguely pondered if he thought about falling a little bit longer than a blink.

* * *

><p><em>AN. It won't always be written this way, trust me. I have the flare for the dramatic for the first few chapters and it slowly melts away into fluff and ooeygooeyness. I'm trying, however, to keep the characters as true to their personalities as possible. I see Utau like this with Ikuto when she's not fawning over him. And, despite what is looks like, Ikuto nor Utau nor Amu are suicidal in this fanfiction. I think everybody has had that one second of weakness where they look that that razor or those pills or that really tall building and they wondered what would happen. I'm not saying everybody is secretly preparing to off themselves. I've just saying that humans are obsessed with death, and they wonder about what would happen ifIdragthatbladacrossmyskin. _

_Sorry for the emotional rant -steps off soap box-_

_Please read and review :D_

_Chapter 2 complete._


	3. Canticle

_**Canticle**_

Amu, as most teenagers did, had an extreme distaste for alarm clocks. Perhaps its a trait branded into the DNA, or perhaps it was just shear natural hatred that comes from waking up before ten, but no matter how much she despised the device and the inventor who created it, she always woke up at the sound of the alarm and got out of bed. No matter what.

Today was an exception.

She was barely awake, her eyes still closed. She could feel the warm sheets that were wound tightly around her calves and the weight of the comforter as it rested on top of her chest. She could feel that one section of hair that always fell across her face and tickled her nose. But most of all she could hear the steady drum beat banging steadily from her side-table. She couldn't place the tune in her waking, but she tapped her pointer finger idly on top of her heart, picking up the tempo quickly.

The song drifted into silence as a loud, boisterous female voice started speaking over the fading notes, "Goooood Morning Seiyo! This is DJ-Dai coming at you from SCREW U; Seiyo's only radio station run by teens for teens! What you were just listing to was _Tyrant_ by One Republic. The time is 9:15 with temperatures at a cool 60 degrees on this beautiful autumn day. Next up is _Can You Keep A Secret? _By The Cab! But first a word from our lovely sponsor."

Amu's eyes snapped open into the dark interior of her bedroom, growing wide as a random commercial jingle filled the area. A beat passed.

"Shoot!" tossing blankets and the like off of her, Amu flipped out of bed hitting the carpeted floor hard as she rushed over to her dresser where she dropped her bag. Hands dove into the recesses of the duffel bag and clothes were flung through the air. Amu tugged out a pair of jeans and a plain black Tee and quickly stripped and changed. She skipped pulling on socks in the sake of time, she hooked her finger into the heel of her black converses and hopped through the apartment, attempting to pull the shoe on without untying the laces. Hitting the door she slammed her foot to the ground, successfully pushing the back of her shoe over her heel. She did the other one and pulled the door open, breaking into a dash before that shoe was on all the way. Her face, with pink hair askew from sleep falling messily over her forehead, twisted into shock as she saw the elevator doors at the end of the hallway began to shut.

"Hey! Hold the door!" She all but shouted. To her immense relief, a hand flew out between the closing metal walls. The motion sensor designed to prevent the doors from closing down on body parts caused the elevator to grumble and the doors to pull away. She slammed into the wall of the elevator, leaning heavily against it as she breathed out a, "Lobby please."

The sound of a button being pressed followed by a chuckle entered her ears and she pushed her bangs out of her eyes to see her savior failing at holding his laughter.

"First day huh?" He said after snorting back his amusement, but his green eyes were still filled with mirth.

"That obvious?" She rebutted, desperately running her fingers through the rats nest that was her hair.

"The newbie aura is strong with you." The boy laughed again. He was kinda a cute, with wavy brown hair and tan skin which only people who stay out in the sun for long periods of time could have. He stood with a straight, casual presence with hands shoved into his jacket pocket and a grin on his face. For some reason, he looked really familiar...

"Well, I'm late as it is and waiting for another elevator would have not boded well, so thank you for helping this newbie out..." She trailed off and he grinned, " Kukai Souma, and no problem, my girlfriend has a manager that calls upon Armageddon if she's a millisecond late. I'm use to it."

Ah, now she remembers, "Kukai Souma the skateboarder?"

"Hey, that's three time world champ skate border to you." He puffed up his chest and set his hands on his hips with a smug smirk on his face. Amu snorted and rolled her eyes, "Humble."

He instantly deflated and raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And who are you Miss Attitude?"

"Amu. Amu Hinamori. No tittle as of yet." She took his outstretched hand and shook it firmly, deciding then that she liked this character with his easy going smiles and fun disposition.

"Nice ta meet ya." He laughed, "I'm proud to be the first one to welcome you to Easter Entertainment. You'll like it here, most of the employee's are teenagers or older. So making friends will be a snap!" He hooked his thumb towards himself and tapped his chest two times, "Consider me your first one!"

She flushed at how loudly he yelled that, even though they were the only ones in the elevator. Still, she smiled, "Nice to know."

"Lucky for you, I know this place inside and out. Have you been to the Lounge yet?" He reminded her of a puppy, with boundless amounts of energy wrapped up into a single presence. Amu shook her head.

"Ah, guessed as much. It's on the eighteenth floor. Basically its a rec room for the employees. My group likes to hang out there after work." His eyes flickered over to the screen above the elevator as they felt the metal box began to slow to a halt, "You should come!" She barely had time to answer as the doors opened and the robotic voice announced that they were at the seventh floor. Kukai stepped out and gave a dramatic bow, "Alas, Miss Attitude, I have to leave your invigorating presence." He straightened back up and gave her a mock salute. "See you tonight!"

She was too stunned to answer, only waving goodbye as Kukai's face disappeared behind the closing doors.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe you slept through your alarm! I told you I would pick you up at nine! Nine o'clock. Yet you had the audacity to meet me at nine thirty with a, 'Sorry I'm late'! How irresponsible can you teenagers get!" Amu slid down shamefully in her seat as Sanjou's rant continued. Upon meeting the woman in the lobby, Amu had been given nothing but grief for her tardiness.<p>

"I'm sorry." She mumbled once again. Only this time Sanjou sighed a great heaving sigh and rubbed her temples, "Fine. I will accept your apology. But never be late again. I can't stand people who aren't punctual."

"I won't. I guess I was just tired from the trip yesterday." Amu supplied.

"I understand, but in this business. Timing is everything." she explained as she rotated the wheel and pulled into a parking lot beneath yet another grand skyscraper. Turning off the ignition, Sanjou turned towards Amu with a serious expression. "There are three things you must remember when you meet the boss. Do not speak unless spoken to, do not drum on your thighs or hum, and refer to him as Sir unless told otherwise. Understand?"

Amu nodded dumbly, suddenly feeling like she was enlisting in the military instead of meeting the bigwig of the entertainment world. The two women exited the car and meandered over to the large glass doors with the Easter logo imprinted on them. Sanjou walked fast, her heels click-clacking across the marble flooring and straight into the elevator located behind a large reception desk. Amu didn't even have time to marvel at the memorabilia of Easter's greatest stars which decorated the walls.

They rode the elevator to the top floor in silence, much like they did the day before, Sanjou was tapping the toe of her red pumps against the floor and checking her wristwatch instantly. Amu made a promise never to be late ever again.

As soon as the elevator slowed to their designated location, Sanjou was out before the doors were even open all the way. Amu followed behind as Sanjou lead them through a large room made of leather couches, black coffee tables with magazines scattered across the surface, and a secretaries desk situated in front of a large silver door. Sanjou waved her hand towards Amu, motioning for her to sit down. Taking the hint, the pinkette plopped down and curled over her knees, staring at the ground as her nerves started to take over.

"Ah, Miss. Sanjou!" The secretary smiled sweetly as she set down a cup of tea she had been sipping on, "What can Eru do for you?"

"Hello, my client and I are running late this morning. I'm here for a meeting concerning Amu Hinamori." Eru's eyes, which were closed throughout this conversation, curved up with her eyebrows as she rolled her chair around the large desk, her fingers beginning to type into a desktop that was sitting behind her.

"Amu... Amu...ah yes. My my, you certainly are late." She reached over and pressed a button on the phone, waited a few seconds before speaking into her headset. "Hello Mr. Hoshina, Sanjou Yukari is here with her client...yes Eru know they are late... Eru is sure that the Lord was planing something for them being twenty minutes late... alright Eru shall send them in." She swiveled towards them and smiled. " You should be careful. He's in a mood."

Sanjou huffed and stormed towards the back door, stopping just long enough to run her fingers forcefully through Amu's hair and to dust off her shoulders.

The office was cold, dark and somewhat frightening. The only source of light was from the thin strings of sunshine that filter through the blinds. A man stood beside the desk, his fingers interlaced behind his back as he stared out through the blinds. Upon the sound of the door closing behind them, the man turned, his lip curling into a sneer.

"Sanjou."

Sanjou bowed deeply before pushing Amu forwards, almost as if the pinkette was a sacrifice. "This is Amu Hinamori, the girl the lab was telling you about."

His eyes trailed up and down Amu's body, making her shiver under his close scrutiny, "Strange." He said after a moment, "In the report, she seemed so much more... enthralling." He moved closer to the leather chair situated behind the desk, taking a seat with the wave of his hand. "What can she do?"

"She can sing. Also she's competent at the piano." Amu, who had forgotten many details about her past light, was surprised at this news. Her fingers twitched at the thought of white ivory keys. Amu stared straight ahead as Sanjou walked over to a stereo system located in the corner of the office. She reached into her bag and pulled out a case, in which she pulled out a shiny CD that she placed into the awaiting deck. Upon pressing play, a soft melody filled the room with euphony of instruments. Amu recognized the song instantly.

"Go on." The man barked, "Sing."

Amu jumped at the order, inhaled a shallow breath and began to sing.

_It's funny how  
>The walk of life<br>Can take you down  
>Without a fight<em>

_So many years  
>Can leave behind<br>Regretfully until it's time  
>To realize that moment<br>When you turn around._

_I'm coming home  
>To breath again,<br>To start again  
>I'm coming<br>From all the places  
>I have been<br>With nothing  
>But a voice within<br>That calls me…  
>Calls me home<em>

She couldn't recall the rest of the lyrics, so she carried the last note until Sanjou paused the song. The man stared long and hard at her, making her hair stand on ends. Finally he leaned back, clasping his hands together and said "Adequate. Her debut is in two weeks. Make sure she's ready."

She didn't have a chance to insert her two cents because Sanjou was already pushing her out of the room. As they entered the elevator she heard Sanjou mutter under her breath. _"I hate that man."_

* * *

><p>He sat on the ledge, his eyes resting on the window across the canon between the buildings. The air was cool but the sun was warm on his skin. A gentle breeze played with his bangs and danced with his gray shirt. The river of cars and people snaked through the bottom of the canon, the faint beeps and honks barely touching his ears. He was young, with traces of his childhood still obvious upon his body. A scar from a fight here, a burn from the stove top there with skinny awkward limps covered with dependable muscle and slightly tanned skin. The tips of his fingers were calloused and smooth at the same time. Hiding in the jungle of blue hair were a pair of ear-buds that slithered down his chest and into a media-player in his pocket.<p>

The vibration in the back pocket of his worn, torn jeans pulled him from his own little world. He tugged one ear-bud out, letting his fall down his shirt as he pulled out his cell and answered it without tearing his eyes away from the window across the way.

"Yo."

"Ikuto, get down here."

"Nagi. You sound distressed."

"Because a certain composer refuses to be punctual."

"Its only nine. I've got plenty of time."

"Ikuto, it's ten thirty."

He whistled low, "Wow. I'm late."

"Yes. Glad we stated the obvious in this conversation." The voice said in a chipped tone.

"Alright, be there in ten."

"I'm timing you."

"You really don't have to."

"Nine minutes, fifty-eight seconds."

"Nagi."

"Fifty-six seconds. Better hurry."

His voice hit the dial tone and he sighed. With a long look to the sky, he rolled onto the rooftop, scooping up a blue instrument case on his way to the door.

* * *

><p><em>A.n Merry Christmas to my reviewers :D short authors note due to the fact that I'm baking cookies at the moment. Just wanted to apologize for the tardiness of this chapter. School kicked my ass last week and lazyness did me in this week. Oh my cookies are done! Merry Christmas ya'll! _

_Read and review._

_Songs Mentioned_

_Tyrant-One Republic_

_Can You Keep A Secret? The Cab_

_Calls me Home- Shannon LaBrie_

_Chapter 3 complete_


	4. Adventive

Adventive

The strange thing that differentiated her from other cases was that her memory wasn't gone, it was just hard to find. It was weird to say the least. She could recall minor things, sure, such as favorite movies and books. How she liked her eggs and that she liked to swim and play soccer in her spare time. But then there were somethings that escaped her, like mice running from a cat too lazy to chase. She could see them, scurrying away, but she couldn't feel them. Hold them or understand them. Playing the piano was one of them, and at this exact moment, she couldn't comprehend how she forgot such a beautiful thing.

The bench she sat on was hard, even with the red cushion, her feet navigated the gold pedals of the grand piano with practice ease as her fingers danced across the ivory keys with wild abandon. She could literally feel the notes reverberate through her veins, imbedding themselves in her blood so that she was not just a player of the music, but a vital part of it as well. She couldn't recall where the melody came from, another one of those blasted thoughts shrouded in fog. But it was beautiful to her ears all the same.

She finished the song with a loud crescendo, pressing down hard into the keys, letting the last deep note fade into silence of the practice room.

She kept he eyes shut for a precious moment before opening them. Her hands slid down the keys into her lap and she stared forward at the empty music rack. She hadn't realized it at the time, but her hands were shaking.

* * *

><p><em>She's seven, sitting beside her mother on a bench too small for two people. Her mother was guiding her through twinkle twinkle little star with patience only a mother could have. <em>

"_There you go, Amu. C, C, F, F..." It was such a simple song, her mother played it with one hand when showing her the keys, pushing down with the tips of her finger. When Amu finally got the whole song down for the first time, her hands were shaking. _

"_I did it mama!" Amu cried, craning her head up with a huge smile that showed her missing front teeth. _

_Her mother wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her hair, "Yes, you did. Baby girl. Yes you did..."_

* * *

><p>"Amu!" She jolted in her seat, her head snapping towards the door. Sanjou stood with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot with tangible annoyance, "Don't just wander off when I'm talking with someone. Jeez, not even a day with you and I feel like I'm more of your baby sitter than your manager."<p>

Amu tucked a strand of hair behind her ear sheepishly, quickly rising and walking over to stand in front of Sanjou. The manager adjusted her glasses as she scrolled through her Blackberry in the palm of her hand, "Alright, we have two weeks to prepare for your debut. We need to visit your agent, discuss demo options, set up interviews, talk to the composer you will be working with. As well do some shopping for some-" She looked up and down at Amu's outfit, "...more appropriate apparel. Understand?"

"Um..."

"Good. Lets see, it's twelve thirty. I have an interview scheduled for my other client that I need to be at around five. So I say we should get some shopping done!"

Amu glanced back at the piano, "But I kinda want-"

Sanjou was already click-clacking down the hall.

"... to keep playing."

Sanjou, as Amu was so unfortunate to discover, redefined the saying, "Shop 'til you drop."

After being dragged around ten different stores in the first three hours alone and being forced into trying on dozens of outfits in each individual store. Amu had only come out with two pairs of converses, a new pair of skinny jeans, and severely traumatized.

Sanjou however had nine new dresses, seven new pairs of heels, new sunglasses and a pretty gold bracelet.

They sat in the food court of the biggest mall in the city, Sanjou sipping daintily on her iced tea while Amu threw grace to the wind and ate her burger with no remorse for table manners. Sanjou hid her disgust well, instead immersing herself into her email.

Amu had finished her meal and was now sipping on her drink when Sanjou's phone rang out. The device flew to her ear in a nanosecond, "Sanjou, go."

Amu watched curiously as Sanjou's face twisted into shock, then confusion, and finally settled for anger. "They moved the interview up? What do you mean? Has Utau been informed of this? What do you mean she's in recording, she was supposed to be done at one! Well you tell Fujisaki that if that song isn't finished by the time I park my car, I'll-" Sanjou stood up, heaving bags upon bags over her shoulder as she continued to yell comments and curses that really should never be heard by anybody under eighteen. With an angry huff she turned to Amu, "You."

Ten hut. "Yes ma'am."

"Take this. It's my debit card. The pin is 6996. For the love of God, buy some decent clothes. Don't worry about the expenses. Buy yourself a cell phone as well. Then get a taxi cab back to Easter Boarding, the address is the corner of 7th and Spade Avenue. Got it?"

Salute. "Yes ma'am."

And, she's gone.

* * *

><p>'I hate shopping.' is what Amu's final verdict after another hour of wandering around the endless mall. The clothing in the stores were either too slutty, too big, too small, or too pink. Amu hated the way the employee's would hover around her when she shifted through racks of clothing with fake helpful smiles on their faces. She hated how she couldn't find a damn music store in the entire place.<p>

Which lead to her walking down the dirty streets of Seiyo City. Her hands clasped behind her back, bags swinging into the back of her thighs and her eyes darting back and forth between the rustle and bustle of the people. It was nearing four thirty now and she had only bought herself a new cellphone from the phone store in the mall. The lady there had helped her with everything, and set her up with a phone that had a keyboard and a touch screen. She got a black and purple cover and a cellphone plan throughout the year. It was nice, she had to admit.

She came upon an intersection and stopped, across the street something caught her eye. A black wooden door covered into pink flowers. The windows had black letters painted on it in elegant script

_**Chara Clothes**_

Amu, intrigued, waited for the sign to change to go, before crossing the street and walking up the three steps that led to the door.

"I know what mom says Ran. But there is honestly nothing wrong, the store is just slow right now. I only opened shop a month ago. Yes. I know. Oh Ran, keep your money. Just have a little faith, the store will certainly pick up speed. Yes. I love you too, give Suu and mom my best. Alright, bye." Miki Chara sighed as she set the phone back onto its stand and set her chin in her palm as she stared over the counter at the empty boutique. She had bought the place with her entire savings, and though she said otherwise to her sister, she knew that if business didn't pick up soon, she was in some big trouble.

Chara Clothes had been her dream since high school. An indie-influenced shop filled with vintage pieces, odd trinkets and an occasional original style by Miki truly. But so far it seemed that people were wary of her shop, giving it odd looks as they passed by her window. Miki slumped into her arms, groaning at the heaving reminder of how far deep she was in. And she was too stubborn to ask for money.

Her head snapped up at the sound of the bell jingling and a petite pink haired girl entered.

"Hello!" Miki called a little too excitedly, "Welcome to Chara Clothes!"

The pink haired girl suddenly took on a dear in headlights expression before it quickly smoothed into indifference, "Good evening." She said quietly, shuffling her feet as she stood awkwardly in front of the door.

Strange. "Can I help you with something?" Miki offered.

"I got it." The girl spat before walking over to the nearest clothing rack. Miki shrugged the cold comment off, just happy that she had a customer. She sat back in her chair, an old Hollywood director's chair she got from a thrift store a few years back and watched as the girl stood, leafing through the rack nearest to the window, every few seconds she would pull out a piece of clothing, stare at it, then set it back.

Miki was normally a patient women, but after thirty minutes of the girl picking up and putting back. She snapped."Um. Miss?"

The girl's head snapped towards her hands grasping a brown polo like it was a lifeline, "Can I please help you?" The girl stared at her for a few choice seconds, before slowly nodding. Miki slid out of her chair and walked around the cashier counter. She looked the girl up and down, and all around before nodding, "Petite small, size 36A..." Miki smiled at her when she flushed at the mention of her bra size, this girl was shy.

"Alright I have just the thing for you."

* * *

><p>Amu was amazed. The dress she wore was a beautiful baby blue which was tight around her chest and billowed out at the waist until it reached her knees. She had been in Chara's Clothing for two hours and everything Miki handed her had fit perfectly, and looked great on her. All the clothing that Amu had loved was already packed away into large navy blue bags and set by the cash register, ready for when Amu was going to pay.<p>

Another one to the pile, "Okay, how on earth are you doing this?" Amu huffed as she slid the dress off her body and threw it over the dressing rooms door, a second later another outfit was flung into her hands.

"Doing what, Amu?" Miki asked, her tone too smug to be innocent.

"Finding all these perfect outfits. I'm going to break the bank if we continue." She looked in the mirror at the black shorts and white shirt that once again, looked great.

"Well I think you have enough clothing to last another two years. So should we stop?

"Please." Amu laughed scooping up her own clothes and changing into them before opening the door and walking out. Miki sat on a the small red sofa that sat in front of the dressing rooms smiling as Amu handed her yet another outfit.

After getting over the initial shyness that's plagued Amu for years, she found that her and Miki got along quite splendidly, they liked a lot of the same music and both had taken art in high school. Their personalities were quite similar as well, making them fast friends. Amu was thinking there must be something in the air of this city to make people so friendly with her, who in her school days was a social pariah.

"I hate to ask this, but are you sure you can afford this?"

"For both our sakes, I sure hope so." Amu said, pulling out the gold card and handing it over to Miki who quickly rang it up. "The total is $400.57, please enter your pin." Amu tapped Sanjou's pin against the tablet and hit accept.

"There you go." Miki smiled, setting four very full bags onto the counter and pushing them towards her. Amu picked them up and set them on the ground beside her feet, "Hey, do you happen to know the number for the taxi service around here? I just got into town yesterday, and I have no idea."

Miki shook her head, "No I'm sorry, I moved here a month ago and I still get lost coming here from my apartment."

"Oh," Amu expression dropped and Miki grinned, "Buuuut, if you like, I can drive you home after I close up shop."

Amu's face perked at the notion, "Really?"

"Yeah! Us new girls need to stick together in this big bad town."

Miki was true to her word, as soon as the clock hit six, she went up front and flipped the open sign to closed and locked the door. Turning back around she picked up two of Amu's bag and motioned with her head. "Come on, we'll take the back way."

Miki led her through a small hallway into an alleyway located behind the shops where a blue, busted up Corvette sat in the shadow of the buildings. The sky was a pale orange, indicating that it had gotten late. Amu followed suit as Miki threw the bags into the back of the Corvette and got into the front seat.

"Alright, where to?" Miki said as she pushed the keys into the ignition and cranked the engine, which sputtered and roared in contempt. Amu gave her the address, and they were off. Miki, who was usually cool as a cucumber, turned quite aggressive out on the road. She honked and cursed between pauses in their conversation.

"So where did you graduate?" Was one question Miki asked as she pulled to a stop light.

"I technically didn't." Amu admitted quietly and Miki gave her a go on look.

"I had an accident in the middle of junior year and missed a lot of school." She remembered the feeling she had when she found out from the doctors that she had been out for six months. She was supposed to be in school.

Miki didn't say anything about it, instead she started talking about her sisters. Amu appreciated the change in topic, "I have three sisters. Ran is the athletic one and Suu is the domestic one, her cooking is out of this world. And then Dia, the perfect one, who is my also roommate." Miki laughed to herself. "Mom always said I was the dreamer, the artistic one."

"Your shop is beautiful." Amu complimented.

"Thank you. I love it so much. I just it was a little more popular."

Amu was surprised by this, "Business bad?"

"It could be doing better- Ah, there's 7th street and-" Miki's eyes grew to the size of two full moons as she took in the sight of the large skyscraper that stabbed at the darkening sky "Holy cow..."

"I know."

"That's a really big building."

Amu sighed, "I know."

"Okay then. You, uh need some help with your bags?" Miki asked after coming down from her shock and pulling into the small curved road that was in front of the main entrance.

"No, I think I got it. Thank you for the ride."

"No problem girl. Just be sure to stop by the shop some time soon. You have my number right?" Amu nodded and got out of the car, grabbing her bags and waving as Miki eased into traffic and disappeared into the river of cars.

* * *

><p><em>:D Yet another quite boring chapter about clothes. I know I know. But it was one of those chapters. <em>

_Next chapter we get to meet the rest of the gang :D_

_Once again, I apologize with any grammar mistakes that may have found their way in._

_Chapter 4 complete _

_Read and Review please :D_


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